


Wings of Fire: The Snake in the Grass

by LoreAndLilacs



Category: Original Work, Wings of Fire - Tui T. Sutherland
Genre: Ableism, Dragon Racism, Fluff and Angst, LGBTQ Themes, Multi, No Smut, Rated For Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-24 14:21:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30073590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoreAndLilacs/pseuds/LoreAndLilacs
Summary: (Takes place in an AU sometime during/before the events of the first arc)-This tale follows a deformed RainWing named Mussurana as she comes to terms with the fact that her world is once more radically changing. Her trusted Queen is dead and gone with her daughter on the throne, there are so-called 'Dragonets of Destiny' running amok and wreaking havoc, and a dark threat bubbles just beneath this chaos.Will she manage to cope with the drastic changes, or will she be stuck in the past?-
Relationships: Original Character(s)/Original Character(s), Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Kudos: 1





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this isn't my usual work, but I happen to be in the Wings of Fire fandom as well as many others and I've been working on this story for quite a bit now.

Sunlight streamed down through the rainforest canopy, casting green-tinted shadows over the hidden kingdom underneath its leaves. Somewhere within this kingdom, was an egg amongst the rest, quite unlike the others, though at first glance it would not appear so. A few of the eggs shuddered and rocked where they stood, this atypical egg being among them. After a few moments of shaking, starburst cracks appeared on the smooth surface, and soon, a small horn pushed its way through, followed by a dragonet. The small RainWing plopped out into the sunshine, her eyes blinking open and looking around blearily at the brightness that blinded her. She attempted to sit upright but clumsily flopped over onto her side with a startled squeak. A glance back behind her would reveal the reason for this: She was missing part of her back leg, and not just that but about half her tail wasn’t there, either. Her head tilted slightly as if in silent question

‘ _Is it supposed to be like that?’_ Of course, she’d only been outside her shell a few mere moments, but her life was already going to be different from the others who had broken from their eggs. A shadow passed overhead, blocking the light and spooking the dragonet, who in her fear fell backward. She was dazed, but otherwise okay. The shadow neared her and with that shadow came a strange noise that sounded like it was directed at her. She didn’t know what it meant, but the next thing she _did_ know, the warm nest she had been in was quickly fading away and out of sight. She flailed about, her small wings trying to catch the air helplessly, as the dark and shadowed ground came closer and closer.

A loud ‘thud’ echoed eerily around the clearing as she collided with the ground, knocking the wind from her tiny lungs. She rose to her talons after a few painstaking minutes of wheezing softly and trying to regain her breath. By some miracle, nothing was broken, though everything was now dark and scary. There was no warmth down here and it was much quieter. She was now utterly and completely alone, surrounded by enormous plants and trees that seemed to reach the sky. Whatever had happened was a death sentence. With no way to fly, climb, or even call for help, it seemed that the small dragon’s life was over already.

She limped into a weak beam of sun that had managed to struggle its way down, curling up in the warmth and closing her eyes. Prickles of white and deep green began to slowly creep over her scales as she lay there, wondering what had happened to her. Not so long ago, she’d been up with others like her. Then the shadow came and cast her away from the warm, dry place, away from the other wriggling dragonets, away from the Higher Place.

Though it wasn’t long before someone noticed the plight of this seemingly abandoned RainWing. Sounds began to come closer to her, sounds that reminded her of the shadow. Quickly she stood, though it was too fast and she fell once more, rolling down a gentle slope and coming to a stop on something decidedly sharp. Once her vision stopped spinning, something came into her line of sight. Something big. An instinct inside of her clicked and she sat up, limping over and leaning against the thing, a single word echoing in her mind: _‘Momma.’_ Whatever she had rolled into grabbed her, wrapping digits around her middle and lifting her into the sky and now she got a good look. Two wide eyes and a long face. Noises came from it, but it was looking around her, at something else. The dragonet tried to grab for the face, reaching her talons out in front of her with a quiet trill, but that seemed to make her ‘mother’ angry because she was on the ground again with a heavy weight on her neck. She let out panicked cries, wriggling around and trying her best to get free, her scales once more turning white, this time with bolts of red and orange up her sides.

Then all at once, the weight was gone. She staggered to her feet, gasping for air before huddling, her wings wrapping tightly around her frail body. She felt something wrap around her again, though this time she was pulled into warmth, like the warmth she’d known in the Higher Place. Slowly, her eyes closed and she curled up. All this excitement had exhausted her and sleep right now was just what she wanted.


	2. Smoke and Chains

Mussurana opened her eyes to the sound of metal chains clanking nearby on the stone floors. Another dream about the rainforest. She shook herself with a sleepy grunt, getting up and hobbling off, grabbing her armor on the way out. The armor was polished and well taken care of, clearly a favorite possession of hers. As she slipped the cold metal over her scales, words reached her ears, though they were far from friendly or pleasant “Hey, Half-Baked! Don’t fall asleep on the job again!” A jeering SkyWing nearby barked with laughter at his joke, smoke curling from his nostrils. Mussurana snorted, her ruff flaring red for a brief moment. She smacked him upside the head with what was left of her tail before continuing on her way, ignoring the angry threats and curses that followed after her. She had more important things to worry about rather than snail slurping gecko-brains like him.

“ _ Mussy,  _ dear,  _ please _ do me a favor.” A much kinder voice purred and a heartbeat later, Queen Scarlet appeared, falling in step, a smile on her elegant features “There’s a  _ nasty _ little prisoner who insists upon getting in the way of everything and making trouble for the other guards,” The Queen’s smile faded to a dramatic pout, complete with wide puppy-eyes “Please take care of her for me, won’t you?” Mussurana nodded briskly “Of course, Your Grace. I’ll take care of it immedi-” “ _ Wonderful!  _ You are my  _ favorite _ little dragonet, you know that?” Scarlet cooed silkily, patting her on her head as if she were indeed nothing more than a simple-minded hatchling. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, instead saying “Thank you.” Graciously. ‘ _ Well, down to the prisons I go.’  _ The mangled dragoness thought enthusiastically.

The prisons. What a dump. The place was rank and smelled like the rotten contents of a goat’s stomach constantly. Inside were many shades of dragons, ranging from SandWings to IceWings, all chained and all unhappy. One, a RainWing and presumably the troublesome one, snarled at Mussurana, her eyes narrowing and her scales turning a deep crimson “You traitor!” She screeched “How  _ dare _ you work with  _ her? _ ” She spat the words out as if they were the famed poison, hissing nastily. Mussurana sighed deeply “Look, don’t cause any more trouble for the Queen, alright? You don’t want to see her when she’s angry. She’ll make you fight in the arena. It’s not a fun time and a lazy RainWing like yourself would be dead within seconds.” She stated mildly as if she didn’t care all that much. The prisoner roared, trying to swipe at the armored dragon through the metal bars “You’re a ‘lazy’ RainWing like me, monkey-face!” This time though, there was confusion in her voice, as if she didn’t quite believe the sight before her eyes. Mussurana’s wings twitched and she took a step closer “I am  _ nothing _ like you. Get that through your thick, stone-filled skull.” and with that, the guard stalked away, her head held high.

‘ _ I don’t know what she was thinking. Me? A RAINWING? Hardly!’  _ Mussurana scoffed to herself  _ ‘I’ll believe that when IceWings breathe fire.’  _ She took her place at the door, standing rigid and still, just as a guard should. The dim torchlight emitted a cozy warm glow and the sleek dragon allowed herself to relax a little bit, resting her stump on the ground. She reached into a cougar skin pouch on the arm of her armor, pulling out a minty-smelling salve which she began to rub on her leg and tail. They had already started to get a bit sore and she still had a long while to go.  _ I wish I wasn’t stuck below the palace. What I wouldn’t give to be in a shaft of warm sun at the Queen’s side! _ Wishful thinking, she knew. The last time she’d been up by the Queen on her ledge overlooking the arena, she’d fallen into the sand and almost got killed by an enraged SeaWing with bloodshot eyes. She shuddered at the memory; No. Staying down here would be just fine…

The minutes slowly crept on, eventually turning to hours that were filled with screamed curses and howls of pain. The RainWing Mussurana had spoken to earlier, whom she learned was called Pomegranate, kept questioning her, trying to get her to see something that simply wasn’t there “You are a RainWing, like me.” She insisted, now reaching through the bars to try and touch her shoulder “No, I’m not.” Mussurana growled deep in her throat “I was hatched and raised here. That makes me a SkyWing.” Pomegranate sighed in exasperation “Don’t you ever wonder why you have a ruff, or why you can change your scales?” The imprisoned dragon asked, flopping on her side “I don’t wonder; I know. I was born without most of my tail and leg, so it makes sense that I’m not a perfect SkyWing. But, I am still a SkyWing, and no fruit-eating sloth snuggler is going to convince me otherwise.” She shot a blistering glare at Pomegranate who slumped down, muttering something under her breath. The door to the prisons slid open and two iron-clad SkyWings stepped in, nodding briskly at Mussurana as they passed, making for the RainWing’s cell. She had a look of pure fear in her eyes as she slid back against the stone with a muffled hiss.

The thrashing RainWing was promptly dragged out of the prisons, grabbing hopefully for Mussurana as she was taken, but to no avail; She wasn’t getting any help from her. The roaring  and hissing of the crowd above was as much music to Mussrana’s ears as it was sickening. She loved the thrill of the fight, loved watching it all. But she didn’t like that it had to end in death, or the Queen using her champion, Peril. It seemed unfair that a dragon could be pitted against living fire, but Queen Scarlet was, well, the Queen and she wouldn’t take ‘constructive criticism.’ Peril was nice and rather interesting to talk to, though she didn’t know what to say to the firescales “What's it like burning a dragon to a crisp just by touching them?” “Do you think you could burn through armor?” “Does a dragon breathing fire at you still hurt?” Were things she probably didn’t want to be asked. 


End file.
